4.  The applicants were born in 1974, 1974, 1973 and 1977 respectively and live in Istanbul.
5.  In connection with an investigation into the activities of an illegal organisation, namely the TKP/ML[1], police officers from the Anti-terror branch of the Istanbul Security Directorate searched several houses and arrested several suspects, including Selvi Dönmez, Emirhan Yıldız and Leyla Lüle on 26 and 27 March 1998 respectively.
6.  In the meantime, on 25 March 1998, Meral Şahin, together with another suspect, had been arrested at a café and taken into police custody. The arrest protocol drafted by the police officers and signed by the applicant mentioned that the applicant had resisted arrest.
7.  On 28 March 1998 the applicants were interrogated by police officers.
8.  The applicants allege that they were subjected to ill-treatment during their stay in custody[2].
9.  On 31 March 1998 Leyla Lüle was taken to the Haseki Hospital for an X-ray. No documents or explanations were submitted by the parties in this respect.
10.  On 1 April 1998 the applicants were examined, together with nineteen other suspects, by a doctor from the Forensic Medicine Department of the Istanbul State Security Court who found no signs of ill-treatment on the body of Meral Şahin. As to the remaining applicants, the doctor noted the following.
11.  Selvi Dönmez had a hyperaemia[3] of 10 cm on her left arm and an extensive hyperaemia on her thighs.
12.  Eminhan Yıldız had a scabbed wound of 10 cm on his right wrist.
13.  Leyla Lüle had two ecchymoses of 20 cm and 3 cm on her back and a 3 cm ecchymose on the left side of her face. The doctor, referring to the X‑ray report, noted that there was no bone pathology.
14.  On 1 April 1998, the applicants were brought before the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court where they denied the accusations against them and, in particular, the contents of their statements given to the police. Leyla Lüle and Meral Şahin claimed that they had signed their statements under duress.
15.  On the same day, Emirhan Yıldız was released. No criminal proceedings were brought against him. The other applicants were brought before a judge at the Istanbul State Security Court together with other suspects.
16.  Before the court Selvi Dönmez, Leyla Lüle and Meral Şahin repeated their statements to the public prosecutor. Leyla Lüle further maintained that she had been subjected to torture in police custody and showed her bandaged arm to the court. The latter ordered the remand in custody of Leyla Lüle and Meral Şahin and the release of Selvi Dönmez.
17.  On 2 April 1998, upon their request, Leyla Lüle and Meral Şahin were examined by the prison doctor at the Ümraniye prison. The provisional report issued by the prison doctor referred to the following findings.
18.  Meral Şahin had a 1x1 cm brown lesion on her back and loss of strength in her right arm. She also complained of pain under her armpits.
19.  Leyla Lüle had a yellow coloured lesion on her back, ecchymoses on her left leg and loss of strength in her left arm. She had also complained of head and neck pains.
20.  On 6 July 1998 Leyla Lüle was released pending trial. According to the medical report issued by the Turkish Human Rights Association on 20 September 2000, Leyla Lüle was suffering from lumbar strain[4], cervical strain[5], cubital tunnel syndrome[6] and loss of strength in her shoulders. The report further noted that she also presented symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome and depression. The doctors concluded that the findings were consistent with the applicant’s story of ill-treatment and prison life.
21.  On an unspecified date, the applicants’ representative, Mr M.Ç., lodged a formal complaint with the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, accusing the police officers at the Istanbul Anti-terror directorate of having ill-treated the applicants while they were held in police custody.
22.  On an unspecified date, the Fatih public prosecutor (hereinafter: “the prosecutor”) instigated an investigation into the allegations of the applicants.
23.  On 1 September 1998 the prosecutor requested from the Istanbul Security Directorate documents pertaining to the arrest and detention of the applicants as well as the identities of the police officers who had interrogated them.
24.  On 9 December 1998 the prosecutor heard five police officers who had arrested and/or interrogated the applicants. On 15 July 1999 the prosecutor heard another police officer who had taken part in the interrogation of Emirhan Yıldız and Leyla Lüle. They all denied the accusations.
25.  On an unspecified date, the applicants’ representative, Mr Z.P., requested information as to the developments in the investigation. On 7 July 2000 the prosecutor informed him that Mr M.Ç had only provided the applicants’ addresses on 22 June 2000 and that the necessary notification had been dispatched to secure their statements.
26.  On 3 August 2000 the prosecutor heard Leyla Lüle who claimed, in particular, that she would be able to identify only the police officer who had puller her hair and beaten her up on the very first day since she had been blindfolded on the other days. She gave a brief description of this police officer. The applicant suggested that she had been ill-treated by five or six police officers and stated, in particular, that she had been suspended and pulled by her feet. She claimed that they had tried to suffocate her by putting a plastic bag over her head.
27.  On 11 September 2000 the prosecutor heard Meral Şahin, who alleged that she had been ill-treated and threatened with rape. She further complained that her family members had also been threatened. She affirmed that she would be able to recognise the police officers who had ill-treated her.
28.  On 3 October 2000 the prosecutor heard Emirhan Yıldız, who submitted that the police officers had thrown cold water over him and squeezed his testicles. He further alleged that he had been suspended and sworn at. He stated that he would be able to recognise only one police officer since he had been blindfolded the whole time. He alleged that he had twice been taken to a doctor but had never been properly examined and that he had marks on his arms. Finally, he submitted that the police usually tortured in such a way so as not to leave any marks.
29.  On 13 October 2000 the prosecutor heard Selvi Dönmez, who claimed that she had been blindfolded, beaten and sexually harassed. She maintained that she would be able to recognise one of the police officers and gave his description. She alleged that when she was taken to Haseki Hospital on 30 March 1998 the doctor had not recorded the marks on her body but that these had later been recorded by a doctor at the Forensic Department on 1 April 1998.
30.  On 23 December 2002 the prosecutor decided not to prosecute the accused police officers on account of lack of evidence.
31.  On 30 December 2003 the applicants objected to this decision. In their petition, they maintained that there was sufficient evidence to indicate that they had been subjected to ill-treatment in police custody. In this regard, they relied, in particular, on the medical reports issued in respect of Leyla Lüle and Meral Şahin at the prison clinic and medical reports issued in respect of Leyla Lüle by the Turkish Human Rights Association.
32.  On 19 April 2004 the Beyoğlu Assize Court dismissed the applicants’ objections.